The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Doig, Ivan. The Bartender’s Tale. Riverhead-Penguin, 2012.

Until he was six, Rusty Harry’s home was in Arizona with his aunt and bullying cousins. Life changed for the better when he went to live with his father, Tom, in the small Montana town of Gros Ventre. Rusty spent much of his time in a room at the back of his father’s popular saloon, observing the goings-on in the barroom through an air vent.

The main events of the novel take place in 1960, when Rusty – now twelve – passed an eventful summer with his new friend and neighbor, Zoe, by his side. Together they studied and imitated the people around them, dreaming of one day becoming actors. A crisis came when the aging and overworked Tom decided to sell his beloved bar, but the arrival of Del – a young historian – changed the course of events. Del persuaded Tom to put the sale on hold while they attended a reunion at Fort Peck, where Tom had been a bartender in the 1930s. Tom helped Del to secure interviews with old acquaintances who remembered life in Fort Peck during the construction of its famous dam. However, one old acquaintance – Proxy Duff – surprised Tom by telling him that he was the father of her child.

Back in Gros Ventre, Proxy showed up with Tom’s supposed daughter, twenty-one-year-old Francine. Tom agreed to take her on as a bartender, so that she could learn the trade and he could keep the business running. Francine did well in her new job, and struck up a romantic relationship with Del. However, Rusty discovered that she was a compulsive thief. On the day of Gros Ventre’s annual fishing derby, Tom questioned Francine. She was ashamed of her behavior, and he forgave her. Everyone flocked to the local reservoir for the derby, but disaster struck when the dam burst, and Del almost lost his life. The flood engulfed the town, with residents having to stay in a Red Cross camp until it was safe to return. While Tom surveyed his damaged property, Francine made her escape – leaving Del to break the news of her departure, and to present Tom with proof that she (and Proxy) had been duping him. Tom set Rusty’s mind at rest by finally telling him about his absent mother, who was not Proxy (as Rusty had feared) and who had died earlier that year. Del offered to stay and help Tom – while continuing his academic work in the area – so there would be no need to close down the saloon.